I haven't read as much Heinlein as I probably should have, so I decided to remedy that lack. In general, this is a pretty good book, though it's datedI haven't read as much Heinlein as I probably should have, so I decided to remedy that lack. In general, this is a pretty good book, though it's dated in a few ways. Still, I'd recommend it....more

If I could give half stars on Goodreads, this would probably be a 4.5 star review, because there were some problems with this book. Instead, I'll rounIf I could give half stars on Goodreads, this would probably be a 4.5 star review, because there were some problems with this book. Instead, I'll round up and use this review to talk about those problems.

First of all was the structure. Like several of the recent books in the series, Shadow of Victory covers territory that, chronologically speaking, was covered in previous books. It begins just after the Battle of Monica (note that The Shadow of Saganami, where the Battle of Monica actually happened, came out in 2004, when I was a high school freshman), and provides fleshed-out backstory for some of the revolutionary characters from Shadow of Freedom. The latter part was what I was most concerned about, because I felt it was largely unnecessary. These are characters who were introduced in medias res in the last book, and most of the new stuff in here was alluded to in their introduction.

Secondly, there's the language. There are two new planets that we see a lot of in this book, one of which is the Polish planet, and the other of which is the Czech planet. And the Polish planet, in particular, gets a lot of Polish words thrown in to provide authenticity. The problem with that is that I don't know shit about Polish. And when significant governmental positions or movements are described using words that I can't begin to even pronounce, this poses a slight problem. I can kind of gather what they mean from the text, but it's still a bit jarring.

Thirdly, there's the pace of the series as a whole. As I mentioned previously in this review, the first book in this side series of the Honorverse came out in October 2004. That's twelve years. In that time, I went from high school freshman to the third year of graduate school. This book did move the plot forward, but I feel like Weber has been getting bogged down a lot in side plots. In this book, we have a side plot in the Solarian League that is very similar to another side plot from previous books, and in fact brings in some of the characters from that other side plot. Was that necessary? I appreciate that he's trying to be very meticulous about world-building, but I kind of want to get to the ending at this point.

Aside from those criticisms, I felt like this was a fairly decent entry in the series. We got some added definition to some characters who have previously appeared, and there were some pretty decent action scenes. I'm still on board with the series, I'm just hoping that we see some resolution before any children I might have become old enough to read this series....more

A good sequel to Wendig's previous book, Aftermath. Both of them show the events after Endor, and how the Empire struggled to hold on, and the New RepA good sequel to Wendig's previous book, Aftermath. Both of them show the events after Endor, and how the Empire struggled to hold on, and the New Republic struggled to build a new government. Contrary to a number of butthurt fanboys (you can find them in the reviews on this very page), I've found this series to be consistently fun, which is all I really ask for from Star Wars books. Seriously, people, grow up. The old EU wasn't the fucking Iliad. It had its good parts, but it was really goddamn messy in its approach to continuity. And ultimately, it's a fucking media tie-in to a multimedia franchise. Not high art. The company doesn't love you back, folks. Anyway, it's not a bad book, and if you think you might like it, give it a shot....more

I'm so glad that I decided to start reading this series again. It's just a very fun series. It's fun to imagine what might happen to stuff from todayI'm so glad that I decided to start reading this series again. It's just a very fun series. It's fun to imagine what might happen to stuff from today thousands of years in the future....more

A fairly light story of Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan after Aral's death. But even a light Vorkosigan Saga novel is still a damn good novel. It revealeA fairly light story of Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan after Aral's death. But even a light Vorkosigan Saga novel is still a damn good novel. It revealed some aspects of Cordelia and Aral that I don't remember from previous volumes. It also showed Sergyar as a developing young colony (and I don't think we've really seen Sergyar since the very beginning of the series, so that's nice)....more

I enjoyed this book, but I'm wondering, given how many more books Weber has planned, is this series going to be longer than the Wheel of Time? Maybe nI enjoyed this book, but I'm wondering, given how many more books Weber has planned, is this series going to be longer than the Wheel of Time? Maybe not in terms of word count, but I think there might end up being more installments, possibly. I don't know. He's clearly setting up for the endgame of this part of the series, but he's said that we will see the return of the Gbaba eventually....more

This is a repackaging, in slightly condensed form, of a trilogy that KSR began more than a decade ago. Unfortunately, it feels more relevant (and moreThis is a repackaging, in slightly condensed form, of a trilogy that KSR began more than a decade ago. Unfortunately, it feels more relevant (and more fantastical) than ever before. The idea that Washington could get anything done on climate change, even when it is abundantly clear that things are way out of whack, just seems so fucking implausible, unfortunately....more

I really enjoyed this book, but even if I hadn't, I might've given it a good review, just to spite Theodore Beale and the other haters. Yes, I am theI really enjoyed this book, but even if I hadn't, I might've given it a good review, just to spite Theodore Beale and the other haters. Yes, I am the one-man cabal who created John Scalzi out of dog-eared copies of Robert Heinlein books, for the sole purpose of DESTROYING SCIENCE FICTION AS WE KNOW IT!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!...more

I don't get the hate for this book. Unless it's part of the stupid backlash against the new EU, in which case, get over it. There were a few things thI don't get the hate for this book. Unless it's part of the stupid backlash against the new EU, in which case, get over it. There were a few things that bugged me, maybe, but nothing crucial. Overall, I would say that Aftermath is better than any of the books Kevin J. Anderson wrote for the old EU....more

A very good addition to the new Star Wars EU. Like with Tarkin, you get to see things (at least partially) through the perspective of the "evil" peoplA very good addition to the new Star Wars EU. Like with Tarkin, you get to see things (at least partially) through the perspective of the "evil" people, and might even end up rooting for them a little bit....more

I've had this book recommended to me more than once, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, it was pretty damn good, although it was suuuuuuuper fI've had this book recommended to me more than once, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, it was pretty damn good, although it was suuuuuuuper fucking Catholic (not that that's a bad thing)....more

I'll review the whole series here, in the name of saving time. I enjoyed this series, even if it sometimes seemed a little too optimistic about the waI'll review the whole series here, in the name of saving time. I enjoyed this series, even if it sometimes seemed a little too optimistic about the way the politics of climate change might change in the event of a major climate change-induced event. There was also some paleofantasy weirdness, but it was still pretty nice to imagine that we could ever deal with climate change. That's how you know it's fiction....more

I haven't read the other books in this trilogy, but it's my understanding that there's no shared continuity, so I read this by itself. Even though theI haven't read the other books in this trilogy, but it's my understanding that there's no shared continuity, so I read this by itself. Even though the world it shows is a utopia compared to our world, it's got a pretty affecting plot, one that shows both personal and global aspects....more

To be honest, hard SF isn't really my thing. Unlike my younger sister (and like my youngest sister), I am not one for physics. I can understand that,To be honest, hard SF isn't really my thing. Unlike my younger sister (and like my youngest sister), I am not one for physics. I can understand that, for the time being, we cannot travel faster-than-light, though that could change. And that's about the farthest that my knowledge of physics goes. So maybe a physics person would get something different out of this book. I just got the riveting thriller elements of it, and that's quite sufficient. I also enjoyed the anachronisms, like the Soviet Union still existing in 2005, and Atlanta getting destroyed in a limited nuclear exchange. Bye bye, possible fictional version of me. (That's not a spoiler, FYI, because it's backstory that appears fairly early on.)...more

I wasn't sure what to expect, going into this book. As it happened, I got a very interesting look behind a character who is a bit two-dimensional in EI wasn't sure what to expect, going into this book. As it happened, I got a very interesting look behind a character who is a bit two-dimensional in Episode IV. Even though I knew that Tarkin represented a terrible system, and he was doing terrible things, I almost found myself sympathizing with him. At the very least, it adds quite a bit of backstory to the character....more